Normal People by Sally Rooney is a love story set in Ireland. Two young people meet in high school, Marianne, a wealthy somewhat outcast girl and Connell, the son of their maid, who is poor but good looking and popular. They form an unlikely bond, yet Connell is too embarrassed to tell anyone about it. Later in college, the tables are turned, when Marianne is popular and surrounded by friends and Connell is shy and feels out of place, yet…
The Confession, by Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist, tells the story of Rose Simmons, searching for a mother she has never known. Her search takes her to the house of a reclusive novelist, the last woman to see her mother before she disappeared. She changes her name, and gets a job as the novelist’s assistant, hoping to uncover long buried secrets. I was drawn to this novel first for its beautiful cover, then because I loved the Miniaturist, but…
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven, is loosely based on the 2008 Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Bernie Madoff. Partially set in Canada at a remote five star hotel in the wilderness, this novel couldn’t be more different from Station Eleven, much to my disappointment. Jonathan Alkaita’s (the Madoff character) actions effect many characters throughout the book, and Mandel follows their different story lines. The setting becomes a powerful character as well, whether it is…
Little Gods by Meng Jin is a novel set at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre, when Su Lan, a brilliant scientist gives birth to a daughter and becomes an ambivalent mother. This is an immigrant story, a story of identity, of trying to escape your past, but never really succeeding. Although beautifully written, from several different perspectives, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I never really cared about any of the characters, they…
Improvement by Joan Silber tells the story of Reyna, a single Mom whose boyfriend just got out of jail and tries to get her into a smuggling job with him and his friends. When she backs out at the last moment, the consequence of that action echos around the globe to many people in many places whose lives are loosely linked by one tragic accident. In this sparse and beautifully written novel, Silber weaves a wonderful tail rich in details…